


Old Faithful

by OnlineUnicorn



Series: mitski songs are gay elaborate no [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confessions, M/M, Post Season 6, Third Person POV, abed didn’t go to LA, abed thinks about the past, it switches from abed to troy, lots of feelings, off screen character development, technically, troy came back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlineUnicorn/pseuds/OnlineUnicorn
Summary: troy and abed have dinner and talk about their feelings, thanks to a little nudge from the dusty old dreamatorium.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Series: mitski songs are gay elaborate no [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040589
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Old Faithful

**Author's Note:**

> gonna start by saying this is not a songfic BUT- i did write it while attempting to use themes from mitski’s geyser (get it? cause old faithful is a geyser in yellowstone national park? no? ok continue) from her album be the cowboy because i can just see trobed in her lyrics...anyways hope you enjoy and as always, critique is welcome!
> 
> thanks for all the love on my last work :)

It was interesting to see the history of Abed’s relationship with Troy. It hadn’t been love at first sight, they’d been complete strangers. Then, it seemed as if they became friends over night. Something clicked, and they’d been inseparable ever since.

It wasn’t movie magic, they had forged a relationship out of trust and loyalty and most importantly, that sense of adventure other people wouldn’t hesitate to call childish behavior.

But years passed, and after pillow towns and blanket forts, hours spent in the dreamatorium, and movie nights shared with others, Abed hadn’t felt any less of a connection than he had his first year at Greendale Community College. In fact, it felt as if it were getting stronger.

It was Troy he would come home to after a day of mockumentary filming, detailing a long list of transgressions made by anyone bold enough to question Abed’s cinematic vision. Troy was the one who listened without fail, explaining to Abed that not everyone was able to see inside Abed’s head but he should have patience because whatever he had planned was sure to be great, and it wouldn’t take long for everyone else to see that as well. It was Troy who got groceries and never forgot Abed’s treasured buttered noodles, knowing the warmth a comfort food can bring on a hard day (his own being bagel bites, Abed remembered, mostly due to their “small size and big flavor”). Troy was the one who always had his back in their Inspector Spacetime dreamatorium sessions, the blorgons never stood a chance against his steady hand and quick aim. And after all those years, it was Troy who found his way back to Abed. He was changed, but so was Abed. That’s how the passage of time works after all.

After that day, they did things together. They took turns driving, they got groceries together, and even decided to move in together (again). Troy picked out the town but Abed found the apartment, something that wasn’t quite the same as apartment 303 but cheap enough for two old twenty somethings to get by with. They weren’t looking to replace their college era home, they were looking for something new for their lives ahead. Secretly, Abed was proud of himself for the find. He knew his financial awareness had been next to none when they were younger, but with fewer and fewer people to turn to, Abed had realized the urgency of his situation. It wasn’t that he misunderstood their capitalist centric society or that he didn’t know how to plan his spending carefully, he just didn’t feel the need to acknowledge it. Life’s no fun on a budget, and his green screen rental fees never had a discount. But over time, it started to make sense. Not the capitalism, but his friends’ concern. No money leads to lots of problems, so the obvious solution was to make, or in this case save, money.

It was moments like those when Abed sometimes felt sad about the changes. He couldn’t stop thinking about yahtzee, their dinner party, #AnniesMove, countless sessions in the Dreamatorium. Even his conclusion with Evil Abed had it’s place in the old apartment. Now, all of those were lost. 

Not lost, Abed hears Troy’s voice in his head, I never lost them when I was on that boat. They stayed right here. Troy had gestured to his chest, and then to Abed’s, and he wished he could have that warm fuzzy feeling back.

And it turns out he was right. Whenever Abed felt lonely, or sad, or anything negative really, he would find that special place inside his heart. His place. Just because he had grown up didn’t mean he had to grow out of things. It was like his own personal dreamatorium.

It was enough, until it wasn’t. Abed was never one for big confrontations, at least not without fictional assistance. He had enough of sitting around, keeping his feelings in a pot. It wouldn’t be long before it all boiled over, he had to make sure he didn’t get hurt again.

It seemed innocent enough then, asking Troy for a good old-fashioned visit to the dreamatorium. Now of course, there was no longer a designated room. Their glory days had long since passed and who could realistically afford and extra empty room in this economy. So they used the living room. The best part, Abed decided, was Troy’s excitement. There was no weird glance to make sure this wasn’t a breakdown in the making, no forced lines to stay in character, nothing to show Troy felt uncomfortable or reluctant with this visit to the past.

They were ten minutes into their Inspector Spacetime: Return of the Blorgons re-enactment when Abed decided to communicate his newfound conclusions to Troy.

“Reggie”

“Inspector?”

“You’re my number one” He didn’t seem to understand.

“I though I was your second in command?”

“Both can be true, as Inspector I’ve officially instated you as my deputy, but in terms of”, Abed paused, “interpersonal space traveler relationships, you’re my number one. There is no one else I’d rather have guarding my six.” Troy seemed to understand now, they weren’t just talking about the game, this was Abed communicating something deeper in true Abed fashion, through an imaginary simulation. He turned around and stood straight, ready to salute.

“Inspector.” Abed copied him, nodding.

“Deputy.” Both extended their arms in salute and resumed their session, finishing with enough time to have an early supper.

Though they often chatted through table setting and dinner itself, tonight’s meal time was filled with only the noise of cutlery. However, their lack of camaraderie was not due to tension. Troy and Abed were simply too engulfed in their own thoughts to worry about small talk. 

Abed was wondering how they got here, different yet still together. He’d had numerous relationships throughout college, some had been on-camera, but others were behind the scenes. None of them were serious, none of them wanted to be more. So he’d turned them down. Yes, Abed Nadir was a dumper more often than he was a dumpee. The girls he dated were nice enough, but they didn’t know what they wanted. A quick hook-up and a night of introspective conversation seemed fun enough, until they realized that meant they had to listen to Abed talk about the Star Wars prequels.

They tried to beckon him closer with promises of popularity and love, but something was always missing. They weren’t who he wanted. None of them made him feel. Everything just fell flat. The only person who could make an interaction feel like something was Troy. When he smiled at him, the way he said his name like he was a surprise guest who wasn’t supposed to show, Troy made him feel like a geyser about to burst. But it never did. It refused to bubble over, it wasn’t real.

Until now.

On the other side of the table, Troy pushed his spaghetti around. His number one. Troy thought he knew what that meant, but now that they had left the safe confines of the makeshift dreamatorium he realized he had absolutely no clue what Abed actually meant. Or maybe he did...No. He didn’t want to think about what it could mean for him, for them. Because Abed hadn’t shown interest like that before. He had been with others. Sure, he turned them down sooner or later but that was because they didn’t understand Abed. Not like Troy did. But was that enough? He wanted to be the one Abed needed. But he wasn’t sure how that could ever be possible without ruining what they had. Their friendship was fast and fun, it made him feel giddy like a geyser about to burst. Taking this next step might just be the final straw. But what if it did the opposite? Troy can’t imagine a world without Abed, a world without his number one.

“Hey Abed?”

“Troy.” 

Their words stumbled over each other. Troy’s hesitant question meeting Abed’s decisive address in an awkward clash. Troy hated that, they weren’t supposed to be awkward they were best friends. He nodded at Abed to continue.

“I meant what I said earlier, you really are my number one. You’re the first one I think of when I get good news and you’re the first I go to when I need to forget bad news.” He looks down for a second, but Troy waits willingly.

“You were the first one to stay, and the first one to come back after leaving. You were my first friend.” Abed seems nervous now.

“You’re the first person I’ve told my feelings to in a long time. You may not be my first love, but you’re the first one to know.” Abed’s eyes are dry, but his face holds emotions so powerful Troy’s brought back to the day he left on the Childish Tycoon. He wonders how many confessions of love Abed has seen on screen, and if he knows his own has out done all of them. And while Abed isn’t crying, Troy is definitely about to.

“You’re my first real friend Abed, all those people I knew in school, we didn’t hang out or talk about anything personal, we were just a clique you know?” He thought Abed would like the cliché but he just frowned, so Troy pushed on. 

“You were the first one to show me that being the best at something doesn’t make you a better person, your actions do. You’re the first person to teach me how to find what makes me happy in life. And...I think you’re my first love.” He held his breath. Abed looks at him for a second before smiling a little.

“Looks like we’ve put all our cards on the table” Troy smiles too, he knows what this means but he still wants to ask.

“So we’re good?” Abed nods.

“Yeah, wanna watch Sleepless in Seattle?” Troy chuckles while wiping away stray tears.

“It’s like you’re in my brain”

**Author's Note:**

> a big thank you to gatos for always reading my work!!!
> 
> i talk abt community on my twitter a lot @/fishclownkstan :)
> 
> also go listen to mitski and have a nice day/night <3


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